The ‘Stockport Iniesta’ driving Pep wild

As far as nicknames go, “the Stockport Iniesta” sums up Phil Foden perfectly. The 17-year-old’s elegance and technical ability would not look out of place in Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, yet it is Manchester City who are sure to benefit from his eye-catching talents in the years to come.

Foden has been turning the heads of coaches (and opposition defenders) for around a decade already; he was just six when he was invited along to training at City and as soon as he turned eight - the youngest possible age that a child can sign for a football club - he was offered a contract.

Since then he has been demonstrating, usually against older and considerably bigger opponents, that he has the skills and smarts to deserve his tag as the jewel in City’s academy crown.

Like Barca great Andres Iniesta, Foden has the combination of close control, technique and vision to dribble out of tight spots and find a team-mate with an astute pass. Perhaps unlike the illustrious Iniesta, Foden has an eye for goal, aided by the ability to quickly burst past opponents in dangerous areas.

He genuinely has a chance of making the considerably high grade at City, and not least because Pep Guardiola, the man who will have the biggest say in the club’s future for the coming years, is a huge admirer.

Back in the summer of 2016, Guardiola, as he himself was finding his feet in Manchester, was filled in about the youngster’s talents, and after going to see for himself the Catalan was raving about Foden to anybody who would listen, even over dinner with friends.

Guardiola demonstrated his belief in the then 16-year-old by naming Foden on the bench for a Champions League game against Celtic in 2016, around the time he was given his amusing yet accurate nickname by a Twitter user who had tracked his progress through the age groups.

It was not until last summer that Foden, who had turned 17 in May, was given another senior call-up, but that time it was permanent.

At some point during City’s pre-season tour of the United States, Guardiola decided he would promote Foden to the senior squad for the 2017-18 campaign. The youngster had impressed during a Manchester derby in Houston, but had a quieter time against Real Madrid in Los Angeles.

At that age, ups and downs are inevitable, and it is why Foden has been afforded the chance to grow into his fledgling senior career by training alongside some of the world’s best players and getting to grips with Guardiola’s game-plan.

“There’s not really a better manager than him,” Foden said in a recent interview with Dugout. “He believes in me, I’m really thankful to him. To learn off him every day is a bonus.”

Almost every day. In October, he left the City set-up for the Under-17 World Cup in India. Guardiola would have handed Foden his senior debut in the Carabao Cup against Wolves, but the City boss let him stay with England as they progressed through the rounds.

As Guardiola conducted his press conference following City’s 3-2 victory against West Brom on October 28, Foden was scoring twice in the U17 final against Spain.

The Young Lions trailed 2-0 but Foden struck to put them 3-2 up and then rounded off the thrilling comeback with his side’s fifth. He was duly named the best player at the tournament and awarded the Golden Ball. This proved pivotal in seeing Foden finish in fifth position in Goal’s 2018 NxGn, which reveals the 50 best teenagers in the world born in 1999 or later.

The fact that he played on the right-hand side in that tournament, as opposed to his central role with City, clearly didn’t hamper him. It bemused Guardiola, however, and he quipped that afternoon at the Hawthorns that he would try Foden in his new position when he returned to Manchester.

“I saw an interview with him as well - was it after the West Brom game? - when he said ‘I’ll play him in that position when he gets back’. I found that funny.”

Foden himself then joked, perhaps with a hint of indignation, about his best position being at left-back. Indeed, when he finally made his first City start, in a Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk in December, it was, surprisingly, on the left side of defence.

Guardiola’s decision was designed to sharpen the youngster’s senses, to give him extra responsibilities and more to think about. There is no doubt that Guardiola sees his future in the middle, however, and had Foden not injured his ankle against Leicester in the Carabao Cup in December he would have featured more often this season.

But the signs are that he is getting better all the time. Against Basel in March he impressed Guardiola - unlike many of his team-mates.

“He was good. In the second half, maybe with him and Leroy [Sane] he was the only one who tried to be aggressive, and to try to do something, with the ball and go forward,” Guardiola said after City’s defeat. “It doesn’t matter after that if you lose the ball. The other ones just passed the ball [for passing the ball's sake], and when that happens we cannot create the feeling that we can score a goal."

Foden became the youngest English player to ever play a Champions League knockout match that night, as well as the youngest to play in a Champions League knockout game for an English club, but already he had shown that he does not just have the talent, but the temperament, too.

It’s all well and good to be likened to Iniesta (with more goals), but what Foden needs to do now, as a part of the senior set up, is prove that he has the other attributes, the ones that take you to the top, the ones you can only really discover when you’re out there in the thick of the action.

The signs, so far, are positive. Manchester City have a real talent on their hands.